Hardtack

Joshamee Gibbs holds a hardtack.

"Remember, lads... and lasses. If we don't get past these ships, it's back into the strait for us, and another few weeks of nothing but hardtack to eat!"

―Hector Barbossa

Hardtack buscuits, also known as simply hardtack (or hard tack), was a type of dense biscuit made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Both inexpensive and long-lasting, hardtack was used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th century through the 18th century, during the golden age of piracy.

History

"We are tired of eating hardtack."

―Joshamee Gibbs to Jack Sparrow

During the Age of Piracy, while flying a friendly flag was a useful plot, other strategies and methods to induce fear included throwing stinkpots, bilge water, or hardtack biscuits.

Fresh food was a luxury on the Black Pearl because it soon rots in the tropical heat. Mostly the crew live on hard tack (biscuits) and salted meat. The captain eats better and the ship carried a few live sheep and chickens for his table.

During the quest for the Shadow Gold, hardtack was a standard food aboard the Pearl. Marcella refused to eat it, claiming it was too hard. When she banged it against the side of the table, not a single crumb fell off. Captain Jack Sparrow carried a few hardtacks in his pockets. He found a few crumbs while looking for something to trade with Morveren and the Rainbow Serpent. A few months later, Diego de Leon opened four barrels before he found one filled with the hardtack that nearly every ship sailed with. They lasted so long, they were a good backup for emergencies. Diego handed one to Carolina and took one for himself.

At one point, the Black Pearl had been sailing for weeks and Captain Jack Sparrow hadn't stopped for fresh food, leaving his crew unhappy and hungry. Joshamee Gibbs held up a hard biscuit while telling Sparrow that the crew were tired of eating hardtack, and reminded the captain that he told the crew they would find treasure.

Behind the scenes

Hardtack were first identified as "Hard tack (biscuits)" in the 2006 reference book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide by Richard Platt, later reprinted in 2007 with Glenn Dakin's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide. The hard biscuit would make its first appearance in the 2007 book Pirates of the Caribbean: A Storm at Sea, where the name "hardtack" would be uttered by Joshamee Gibbs.

Appearances

• Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
• Pirates of the Caribbean: A Storm at Sea (First appearance) (First identified as hardtack)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide (First identified as hard tack (biscuits))
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• The Pirates' Guidelines (First identified as hardtack biscuits)

External links

• Hardtack on Wikipedia